Growing up, Saturday morning was Mom’s baking day. It was always a delightful day with delicious smells of pies, cobblers, and cookies wafting from the kitchen. In late summer, one of those scrumptious treats was chocolate zucchini cake. We couldn’t wait to dig into the warm cake with melted chocolate pieces and crunchy nuts on top.
While making this cake, my sons wandered into the kitchen and they each asked the classic question of what I was making. When I told them, they each gave me a disgusted look with my youngest saying “Mom, a combination of zucchini, nuts, and chocolate chips doesn’t sound like they belong in cake.”
At dinner that night, my husband, a staunch zucchini hater, ate his cake first and declared it delicious. Both my sons loved it too with one saying, “I can’t believe zucchini could taste so good!” My husband looked at me and asked, “There wasn’t zucchini in there was there?” I just smiled knowing that I snuck one by him. How could it did not taste good? It was Mom’s recipe!
Ingredients
- ½ cup soft butter
- ½ cup cooking oil
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup sour milk* or buttermilk
- 2 ½ cups four
- 4 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ¼ cup chopped nuts
Instructions
In a mixing bowl, cream butter, oil, and sugar. Blend in eggs, vanilla, and sour milk. Stir in flour, cocoa, baking soda, ground cloves, cinnamon, and salt. By hand, add zucchini and mix well. Spoon into greased 9×13 inch cakepan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts.
If using a glass plan, bake at 325º for about 45 minutes or until cake tests done. If using metal pan, bake at 350º for about 40 minutes.
Makes 12 servings.
* To make sour milk, add ½ tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to measuring cup and fill to half cup with milk. Let sit for 5 minutes until curdled.
